New York Yankees' Jason Johnson battling eye cancer while trying to make final roster

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ember Blueggel returned home to spend time with her mother for the first time since accepting a marriage proposal from the man she'd recently met. With a wedding to plan, she was searching online for the perfect gown when her phone rang.

Her fiance, Yankees pitcher Jason Johnson, was calling, so Blueggel picked up expecting to hear good news.

"I've got cancer in my eye," Johnson told a stunned Blueggel.

Six weeks have passed since doctors diagnosed Johnson with choroidal melanoma. The pitcher has since undergone surgery and returned to camp, where he was already a long shot to make the roster. Missing time for treatment -- he couldn't pitch outside for a few weeks for risk of infection -- only further reduced his already slim chances for a spot as a long reliever. But Johnson, 35, now knows better than to worry too much.

Even if he must start the season in the minors, the veteran of parts of 11 seasons considers himself lucky.

"There's always time, I know that now," said Johnson, who is scheduled to pitch in relief Friday, when the Yankees face the Minnesota Twins in an exhibition game. "I definitely know that now. There's never a sense of urgency for me anymore. Whatever happens, happens. This kind of put a whole new perspective on how I live, and how I do my stuff."

A few weeks before spring training, Johnson complained of blurriness in his right eye, prompting him to visit the eye doctor for what he figured would be an adjustment his contact lens prescription. Instead, the doctor discovered a mass growing behind his eyeball. Further tests showed the mass was life threatening and malignant.

"That scared us both to death, because yesterday he is a physical specimen, an athlete," said his Johnson's father, John. "And today he's possibly going to lose his life."

Within hours, Johnson was packing for the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, where his father was waiting. For two days, he and his father listened as doctors described how lucky he was that the growth was discovered.

Doctors recommended the use of a radioactive plaque. About the size of a quarter, doctors would implant it next to the tumor. It would be removed after four days. The hope was that the radiation would shrink the tumor and give Johnson his normal sight back.

The drawback, however, was major. Eventually, even in as little as a year, the sight in Johnson's eye would be reduced by at least 20 percent.

Said Blueggel: "I don't think any of it had time to register when I look back at it now."

For four days after surgery, doctors ordered Johnson to stay in the hotel room. He was ordered not to move, for fear of disturbing the plaque, which had been stitched next to the tumor. Sleeping in beds placed side-by-side, father and son talked for hours. The conversation kept drifting back to what was most important to Johnson: his new fiancee.

The two met on a plane last summer while Johnson was playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. He had settled in for the flight to Salt Lake City when Blueggel found the last empty seat -- next to Johnson. They were engaged a few days before Valentine's Day and have scheduled a Nov. 14 wedding.

"You have to live your life," he said. "You can't let this stop you from doing anything. It's a scary thing deal with all of that."

Blueggel will be by his side next week when he goes back for his first post-operative scan, one of two annual examinations he will have for the rest of his life.

For now, Johnson's right eye is functioning normally and his vision is improving. The tumor has shrunk and he doesn't have to take medication.

If everything checks out, Johnson hopes to still pursue baseball.

With a few weeks left until the team travels north, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Johnson has enough time to make an impression. The more likely outcome, however, involves Johnson going to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. As he did in the minor leagues last season, Johnson would like to show he has enough left to return to the majors.

"I can worry about losing my sight and feel sorry for myself, or do what I'm doing now, and say 'I'm not going to let this beat me,'" Johnson said. "I'm going to enjoy my life every day as much as I can. I'm going to enjoy my fiancee, enjoy my life."